


Blue Rose

by MythGirl02



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Gen, Short & Sweet, Sidewalk Chalk, Technically lol, Valentine's Day, can be read as platonic or romantic, since im posting it on valentines day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28916541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythGirl02/pseuds/MythGirl02
Summary: “Blue roses don’t exist in the natural world, though.”“Maybe not, but wouldn’t that be cool?”
Kudos: 8





	Blue Rose

**Author's Note:**

> There's a really cool folk tale about blue roses here: http://www.marilynkinsella.org/Fabulous%20Folktales/The%20Blue_rose.htm
> 
> Anyway with the end of Carmen, I wanted to write some JuleThief!

Sunshine, the stress of finals and the approaching summer break spelled one thing: sidewalk chalk. There were doodles all over the pavement at Julia’s university. It was art in a natural form, and she always made sure to take pictures of just about all of the drawings she saw. As an art history major, she very much appreciated the time and effort put into them, no matter how simple they were.

There was one that astounded her, though: a drawing of a blue rose outside her dorm building.

It didn’t astound her in the sense that it was horrifically bad or surprisingly good; it was somewhat average, but beautiful, given some shade and depth. It made her stop in her tracks, her backpack weighing heavily on her shoulders thanks to her textbooks and laptop. No, this drawing astounded her with a single question: why blue, of all colors?

“It’s a pretty one, isn’t it?” Julia nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice that appeared beside her, but it was just another one of the girls in her dorm hall. Admittedly, Julia didn’t know much about her, and probably wouldn’t have recognized her if not for her signature red jacket. “Whoever drew it really has a knack for art.”

“Did you draw it?” Julia asked, because she truly didn’t know. She spent more time in the library than anywhere else, and consequentially never saw when the chalk art was done.

The girl shook her head. It struck Julia how much like a stereotypical college student she looked, with her hair pulled in a messed-up bun and her jacket and jeans. “The best I can draw is a stick figure, nothing that good. It looks like I could just reach out and take it.”

It looked a bit realistic, Julia would admit, especially for chalk art on a university sidewalk. “Blue roses don’t exist in the natural world, though.”

“Maybe not, but wouldn’t that be cool?” The girl smiled at Julia, looking her over as though seeing her for the first time. Perhaps she was. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Carmen.”

“Julia.” Julia nearly put her hand out to shake before thinking better of it; not many college students immediately thought to shake hands with a potential friend and classmate. “I don’t often see you around.”

Carmen shrugged, her hands comfortably in her jacket pockets. “I usually hang around the academic buildings and the gym instead of my room. Because of that, I could say the same about you.”

“I study in the library most often.” She turned her attention again to the blue rose. “Do you know the significance of blue roses?”

“I haven’t brushed up recently on flower languages recently, no.”

Julia was quiet used to being told that her knowledge of art history, and history in general, was boring and useless. The way Carmen was looking at her, though, with intrigue clear in her eyes, Julia felt good about telling her. “While one might assume that a blue rose would symbolize sadness or another such emotion, it actually stands for mystery, uniqueness and attaining the impossible, the latter likely due to the lack of its natural occurrence. Most often in art, the common colors for roses are pink, red and cream, which are generally used in romantic contexts, so I wonder why whoever drew this used blue instead of one of those.” She had to stop herself from saying more; even though Carmen seemed interested, she doubted she wanted to know more than that.

Still, Carmen smiled, almost teasingly. “I take it you’re an art history major?” Julia nodded, hoping she didn’t just bore Carmen. “That’s cool. I should take one of those classes sometime if they’re as interesting as listening to you talk about it.” She looked like she was about to say more, but her phone vibrated with an incoming call, stealing her attention. “I have to take this, but maybe I can meet you for coffee before classes tomorrow to talk more? Does nine work?” Julia nodded again, a bit too stunned to say anything. “Perfect. See you then, Jules.”

Carmen turned with a wave, popping in earbuds and walking down the path to the dining hall. Julia watched her go, then went back to her room and arranged her desk. She was all set up to finish the little homework she had remaining before going to have dinner with a classmate, but her fingers paused at the keys. Without much hesitation, she opened a new tab and looked up stories with blue roses, just out of curiosity.

It was only once she had finished reading an old folk tale that she wondered why Carmen had been wearing a jacket on such a warm day.


End file.
